A 15-year-old boy today faces a life term for stabbing to death an architecture student in a confrontation about throwing conkers in the street.

Steven
Grisales, 21, was knifed in the heart in a “sudden and unnecessary” attack for
a “hardly believable motive”, the Old Bailey was told.

He had
been walking along College Close, Edmonton last August when he got
into a row with three youths he had never met.

“It
was not about anything very much but had something to do with throwing some
conkers,” said prosecutor Andrew Edis.

As the
shouting escalated Mr Grisales was seen to drop his jacket and pick up a
skateboard and hit one of the youths with.

Mr
Grisales was stabbed, collapsed in a neighbour’s garden and was taken to hospital
for emergency surgery but died the following day.

Jurors
heard the 15 year-old boy was later picked out from CCTV images of the three
men walking away from the scene.

The boy
will be sentenced to detention at Her Majesty’s Pleasure on June 13 by Judge
Richard Marks who will decide then whether to lift the killer’s anonymity.

Outside
court DI Richard Beadle, of the Met’s homicide and serious crime command, paid
tribute to Mr Grisales’ neighbours and witnesses who tried to help the stricken
victim and came forward with important evidence.

“But sadly
there were others – known to the defendant – who held vital information and
refused to assist inquiries and did all they could to deter the investigation ,”
he said.

“Steven
did no more than stand up to unruly youths and for that he has lost his
life.

“The
defendant has shown no remorse and continually lied about his involvement.
Fortunately the jury saw through this dishonest charade and his arrogance and
his contempt for others belied his age.”

Steven’s
mother Jasmid Grisales paid tribute to her son as “always loved by absolutely
everybody who had the privilege of knowing him.”

The court
heard that the teenager had handed himself in at Edmonton Police station and
gave a prepared statement claiming he had lashed out with his fists in self
defence and blaming one of his friends for the stabbing.

But one of
Mr Grisales’ neighbours said that the student had tried to placate the youth who killed him.

One neighbour said she was
looking out of her window and saw one of the youths lunge at Mr Grisales.

She said she had earlier seen
three people sitting on a wall in front of her house and then heard the sound
of shouting.

“I looked out the window. The
person who got stabbed was facing towards me. He was gesturing with his hands,”
she said.

“He had his arms up and was trying
to placate him as if he was apologising or saying sorry.”

She then saw the youth who was
confronting Mr Grisales swing his arm at the victim.

“He seemed to make contact with
the victim's left side. The two other people who were with him seemed to be
shouting,” she said.

The victim went down on one knee
then got himself up. “There was a second blow. It landed in the same place. The
victim was shouting. He went down a second time.

“He got up. He tried to make it
down the road to the train station. He quickly changed his mind and ran across
the road and into the garden of another house.”

Two other neighbours ran to try
and help Mr Grisales and Ms Addy called the police.

Jurors
heard that the 15 year-old wrote his street name on his mattress in his cell
along with the words “NPK. Riding the Big Bird. Innocent on Remand.” Police
also found a knife scabbard under his bed at his home in Enfield.